Learn Spanish with Locked Up
Yes, Locked Up is a B2-level pick for Spanish learners. This women's prison drama is tense and addictive, with raw, colloquial dialogue and a lot of high-emotion language. The register is informal and quick, so it works best for upper-intermediate learners using graded subtitles.
Key takeaways
- Locked Up is a B2-level pick for Spanish, best suited to upper-intermediate learners.
- A gripping prison drama that drills colloquial Spanish and strong emotional language.
- It runs 4 seasons, 40 episodes, so its vocabulary recurs enough that finishing it builds real Spanish listening.
- Against the 27 other Spanish titles in our difficulty index, it is easier than 1 of them.
- Expect everyday Spanish such as cárcel and presa.
- Watch it with Spanish subtitles rather than your own language, which the research links to the biggest listening gain.
- Difficulty
- B2 (challenging)
- Best for
- upper-intermediate learners
- Format
- TV series
- Length
- 4 seasons, 40 episodes
- Original audio
- Spanish
- Genre
- crime, drama
- Platform
- Netflix
- Relative difficulty
- Easier than 1 of 27 other Spanish titles we rate
- In our index
- 1 of 28 Spanish titles
Wondering how long the whole language takes? How long it takes to learn Spanish.
Spanish words you'll hear in Locked Up
- cárcel
- prison, jail
- presa
- (female) prisoner
- fuga
- escape, breakout
- amenaza
- threat
- confianza
- trust
Go deeper: more Spanish from Locked Up
- el talego
- the slammer, the joint
- Spain prison slang for jail; grittier than cárcel, used constantly by the inmates
- la celda
- the cell
- the individual prison cell, distinct from cárcel (the whole prison)
- la funcionaria
- the (female) prison officer
- el funcionario for a man; how the guards are addressed inside
- el patio
- the yard
- the exercise yard where much of the inmate drama unfolds
- el motín
- the riot, the uprising
- a recurring event in the prison; from the same root as mutiny
- la condena
- the sentence
- cumplir condena = to serve time; condenar = to sentence or convict
- el chivato
- the snitch, the informer
- la chivata for a woman; a dangerous label inside
- ajustar cuentas
- to settle the score (literally: to adjust accounts)
- prison-drama staple for taking revenge on a rival
- estar a salvo
- to be safe
- the constant goal; a salvo = out of danger
- la venganza
- the revenge
- drives many inmate conflicts; vengarse = to take revenge
- no te fíes de nadie
- don't trust anyone
- fiarse de is to trust; the survival rule inside Cruz del Sur
- estar jodida
- to be screwed (female)
- strong colloquial register; estar jodido for a man, common in the raw dialogue
- cágate lorito
- well I'll be damned, holy cow (literally: poop yourself, little parrot)
- Zulema's signature catchphrase; playful Spain slang for astonishment
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Frequently asked questions
- What level of Spanish do you need for Locked Up?
- Around B2. The prison setting brings fast, colloquial Spanish and slang, so graded subtitles help you keep up and save the recurring vocabulary.